movement of key personnel to remote sites. The two UC-35Cs
entered service in 1999; 11 UC-35Ds entered service during
2001-2006.

CONTRACTORS: . . . . . . . . . Precision Turbines Inc.

C-9B SKYTRAIN II

BRIEFING: The C-9B Skytrain is a military version of the
McDonnell Douglas DC- 9-32 airliner modified with an upper
cargo door. The C-9B provides the Marine Corps high-priority
logistical airlift and can haul cargo, passengers or a combination
of the two. Beginning in 2001, the C-40A aircraft began replacing the C- 9 fleet, completing replacement in 2014. The two
remaining Skytrains in service are flown by Marine Transport
Squadron One (VMR- 1). In 2011, the Navy acquired a DC- 9
modified for special test work; the aircraft is designated NC-9D.

TILTROTOR AIRCRAFT

MV- 22 OSPREY

BRIEFING: Developed by the Navy/Marine Corps/Air Force and
the team of Bell-Boeing, the V- 22 is the world’s first production
tiltrotor aircraft combining rotary- and fixed-wing capabilities.

The MV- 22 Osprey replaced the CH-46E helicopter as the
Marine Corps’ medium-lift aircraft. Its primary mission is to
provide assault transport of troops, weapons, equipment and
supplies. The MV- 22 is a force multiplier due to its ability to
fly faster, higher and longer, and carry more cargo than the
platform it is replacing.

Designed to carry 24 combat-equipped troops, or 20,000
pounds internally, the MV- 22 complements the range of military operations with its external capability. It has demonstrated
its ability to lift a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle
(HMMWV or Humvee), an M777 howitzer and various loads.

The MV-22B is a redesign of the V-22A first flown in 1989.

Low-rate initial production was authorized in fiscal 1997. The
MV- 22 program was projected to achieve a full-rate production decision by December 2000, but was delayed in the wake
of two fatal accidents that year.

A redesigned Osprey with a variety of safety changes
resumed flight testing in May 2002. Deliveries of the reconfigured MV-22B — the Block A version — began in November

2003. Operational squadrons were equipped with the Block
B combat configuration first delivered in December 2005. An
operational test squadron dedicated to the MV- 22, VMX- 22

(now VMX- 1), was activated in 2003. A second operational
evaluation in 2005 led to the decision to enter full-rate
production.

The first operational Osprey squadron, VMM-263, was activated in March 2006 beginning the fleet transition from the
CH-46E to the MV- 22. IOC was reached in June 2007 and VMM-

263 took the MV-22B into combat on a deployment to Iraq in
September 2007. VMM-263 deployed the Osprey to sea in 2009
onboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan. VMM-261 took
the MV-22B on its first deployment to Afghanistan in late 2009.

In July 2012, the first overseas squadron, VMM-265, stood upin Okinawa, Japan, and V-22s began being delivered to HMX- 1to support the Executive Transport Mission in May 2013. As ofthe start of fiscal 2017, there are 16 active and two Reserve VMMsquadrons, and one VMMT squadron.

The MV- 22’s speed and range have proven invaluable as
Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs) continue to operate across
ever-increasing distances, such as from Afghanistan to Libya.
In August 2013, a Bell-Boeing-leased MV-22B demonstrated a
precontact drogue aerial refueling of an F/A- 18.

The Marine Corps has a requirement for 360 MV-22Bs and
the Air Force has a requirement for 50 CV-22Bs. The Navy has
selected a version, the CMV-22B, for a carrier-onboard aircraft
to replace the C-2A and has a requirement for 44 aircraft. The
program’s second multiyear procurement contract (fiscal 2013-
2017) for 101 MV-22Bs and nine CV-22Bs was signed in June
2013. As of October 2016, the Marine Corps inventory included
264 MV-22Bs. Additionally, under the first Foreign Military Sales
case for the V- 22, nine aircraft are on contract for Japan.